It's Alright
by nocturne0
Summary: Maybe everything Draco Malfoy wanted was someone to accept him as he was...
1. Chapter 1

- Chapter 1 -

All was quiet in the Slytherin Common room that night in February. The flickering flames in the fireplace dimly lit the room, and the only sound to be heard was the crackling from the wood as it slowly decomposed into white ash. It must have been way past midnight and all of the house's students were fast asleep in their dorms – well, almost.

Anyone who did not look closer would have missed Astoria, a brown-haired Fourth Year resting in one of the numerous armchairs that were spread across the room. She was sitting upright with her arms folded below her chest, head tilted back. Every now and then several seconds of snoring disturbed her peaceful breathing. A heavy book rested on her lap, sliding dangerously closer to the left every time she twitched in her sleep; and so it was not the rumbling sound of the heavy stone door sliding open in the middle of night that made the girl suddenly jump up from the cosy chair, but much more the thud of the book finally slipping off her tights and landing on the floor. Still half asleep she stretched and let her shoulder blades clunk before she collected her belongings and turned to set off for the girls' dorm.

_Clonk!_ Again, the book accompanied by a bunch of writing utensils littered the ground. Astoria faced a tall young man at the other side of the room.

"Draco?"

He had just tried to unnoticedly cross the Common Room. Smudges of half-dried blood stretched along one side of his pointed face, and flicks of his blonde hair looked scorched and sooty. The moment he realised that the girl had taken notice of him, he drew his wand.

"Don't you–" He was breathing heavily. "–move–" He staggered backwards until his back rested on the cold stone wall. "–a muscle!"

"What the–" She stopped dead. The expression on her face was a mix of fear and utter surprise. Mostly fear.

"Shut up!" Draco hissed angrily. His voice was so low she could barely hear him. Astoria could not tell whether this was simply because he did not want to wake anyone up, or because he had severe breathing problems. Although he grimaced with pain and a trail of blood was coming from his left lower leg as he inched along the wall, he didn't put his wand down even once. His eyes were fixed on her.

"You need help. I'll go get Professor Snape."

_Locomotor Mortis!_

"I warned you!"

So Astoria stood with her feet paralysed. She did not have the faintest idea what was going on. Her mind was racing, working hard to find a way out of the situation; and the harder she thought, the clearer the answer became: she did not have to get out of it. What was the worst that could happen? Nothing, really. Surrounded by dozens of sleeping housemates, Draco would have been foolish to seriously attack her; and of all the things one could say about him, he definitely was not stupid.

Draco had now reached the door to the boys' bathroom. One hand fumbled around for the door's handle, while the other one was needed to help maintain his upright position. By now, all colour seemed to have faded from his face; he was white as a ghost.

Before she realised what she was doing, Astoria reached for her wand. _Expelliarmus!_

A wooden stick hurtled through the air; she ducked her head just in time so it wouldn't knock her unconscious. They both knew that Astoria was terribly bad at duelling, but deprived of his wand and severely injured it was obvious that Draco was rather defenceless.

At the attempt to take a step, Astoria lost balance and tripped over.

"What's the counter-curse again?" Now, of course, she regretted her lack of attention in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"I'm not telling you," Draco snapped.

"What's the point in this? You are sitting in a puddle of blood, pale as death. We've got to do something!"

She started to hop over to the Common Room door.

"Please!" His voice was a tad softer now, but he was having trouble holding his head up, so he had ceased looking at her. "Don't tell anyone. I'm begging you."

Astoria was not one to enjoy being adventurous or breaking rules, and for a second she wished that Draco had managed to slip past her unseen, but considering the miserable condition he was in she had to act quickly.

Mindful of taking the boy's wand with her, she hurried to her dorm as fast as she could with her legs immobile and careful not to make too much noise. Seconds later she returned.

"Drink this!" she demanded, surprised by her own determination.

The girl was holding a tiny vial filled with a deep crimson liquid out to him.

"What's the use?" he snapped.

"Drain it _right now_ or I'll go and get help. It's up to you."

Considering the lack of alternatives, the best Draco could do was to blindly swallow the bitter concoction; and so he did.

She kneeled down beside him. _Diffindo!_ – The trouser leg that covered the wound was ripped open and Astoria started to lay out dried leaves of dittany onto the gash.

The young man concentrated to suppress an agonized groan. In pain, he looked down at his wound, which was burning like fire, but already showed tiny batches of newly grown skin around the edges. His face brightened a bit.

"So what _was_ the counter-curse?" the girl asked.

_Locomotor __Vitae!_ he mumbled.

"Alright, here's your wand," she said, fishing it out of her cloak's pocket. "You should really go easy on yourself for the next couple of days. You've lost quite a lot of blood, and the wound might burst if you're not careful."

Astoria reached out her hand to help Draco stand up and then hastily left with a simple "Good night."

Where that injury came from, why he needed to keep it secret and whether Draco was a Death Eater or not – she did not want to know.


	2. Chapter 2

- Chapter 2 -

As weeks passed and spring drew closer, the incident had almost completely vanished from Astoria's mind. In parts this may have been due to the vast amount of school work that had kept her more than busy since, but she too had done her best to keep herself from thinking about it.

The girl was now enjoying the last hours of the weekend in her favourite spot around Hogwarts Castle. She was lying on a large spur wall six feet above the ground at the foot of West Tower. The massive stones released the heat they had gathered throughout the day, making Astoria feel sheltered and cosy. Dusk was about to fall and the last rays of sunlight dimly lit the surroundings. Her view wandered casually across the glimmering lake surface, then over to the Quidditch Pitch further off and along the edge of the Forbidden Forest before she closed her eyes in relaxation.

When she opened them again minutes later, she jumped in fright – she had gotten company. An exhausted-looking Draco Malfoy had climbed up to her. He seemed desperate, harassed and distressed all at the same time, but the very moment he let his back rest on the warm stone wall, much of the tension and angst seemed to slip from him. Still Astoria could not help but notice that he was completely run down. She had aided him before, and she would do so again, even though she knew that he was way too proud to ask for it.

So there they lay gazing at the stars for what seemed like an eternity until, finally, Draco spoke.

"I can't tell you," he stated.

Ever since that night, he felt like he owed her something, an explanation in the least. She had saved him from greater trouble and never asked for anything in return. Unlike most of the girls he knew, she had not even been curious to know what he had gotten himself into – a trait he deeply appreciated.

"It's alright," she assured.

Moments of silence followed before Draco suddenly sat up, one hand reaching for the other hand's wrist, and unbuttoned the cuff of his white shirt. He hesitated for a moment before slowly rolling up the long sleeve, exposing his inner forearm. In the darkness, Astoria could only vaguely guess the outlines of the mark on his skin, but in fact there was no doubt. Now she knew.


	3. Chapter 3

- Chapter 3 -

Everything was different at the beginning of Draco Malfoy's seventh and last school year. The war had left its marks on the students, professors and the castle. The atmosphere was not relaxed and homelike anymore, but rather deeply anxious.

Draco no longer let out cutting remarks or derisive laughter. His admirers had diminished. Everybody knew who he was and what he had, or had not, done. Former friends and followers now avoided him. He was feared, yet he felt weaker than ever. With nobody to turn to, all he wanted to do was hide: hide from the stares, hide from the guilt, hide from the world.

But, really?

Nobody?

* * *

><p>"Hey, there!" it sounded cheerfully from behind him. Astoria had just appeared at the door of his dorm.<p>

"Some of us thought we'd go take a spin on the Quidditch Pitch," she announced, "Up for a match? Just for fun of course; I usually don't cut a good figure on brooms anyway."

He eyed her irritatedly, but did not answer. The girl came closer and sat down cross-legged at the floor in front of the bed he was lying in.

"Uhm," she lowered her voice a little, "I know we're not really friends, but– I thought you could use the change."

Still no answer.

"Are you alright?" She tilted her head to one side, looking worried.

"Yeah, I'd just rather stay inside," he snapped, sociable like a troll.

"And drown in your misery?" she asked teasingly.

Angry furrows emerged on his face.

"What do you know?" he snapped furiously.

Astoria resignedly compressed her lips. He was totally right: She did not have the faintest idea what he was going through and how he was feeling. There was no way for her to comfort him and no advice she could give.

"It was your decision to let me know that you are–" No, she did not dare to say it aloud. "Well, you know what. What did you expect me to do?"

"I'd expect you to GO– GET– OUT– OF– MY– DORM! NOW!"

Sometimes he hated himself for being so emotionally screwed up. He liked having her around, but could not get himself to let her know. Anytime anyone became close to him, he chased them away. Emotional proximity made him feel weak, predictable and dependent and those were things, so he was taught, one certainly did not want to be.

Maybe this was also the reason why he had been with Pansy for such a long time already. She made it easy for him; their relationship did not necessarily require his commitment. Most of the time all was well as long as she could act the oh-so-loving girlfriend at famous Draco Malfoy's side. It was as simple as that and he had liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

- Chapter 4 -

When Astoria arrived at the Three Broomsticks on the last evening of the school year the Seventh Years' graduation party was already at full swing. Everybody was joking, chatting, dancing and having a good time.

The pub was nicely decorated in all the four houses' colours; lampions floating along the walls atmospherically lit the room just at the right intensity. Vibrant dance tunes filled the room.

"Daph!" She had spotted her older sister amidst a group of Slytherins on a table at the far end of the room and hurried over to jauntily engulf her in her arms.

"Finally finished!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah, I still can't believe it myself," Daphne admitted. "Come on, sit with us!" She scooted over and then turned to the bar: "Madame Rosmerta, we need another Butterbeer!"

"Make it two, no, three!"

"And a round of Firewhiskey!"

That night, alcohol flowed like water. The graduates were of age after all, and the few guests who were not were just a face of the crowd. Astoria felt a little out of place, but with her sister by her side she managed to enjoy herself.

Time was flying and it was almost midnight when Daphne leant over to her little sister, using her long mane to shield them from the rest of the group.

"Looks like you've got a fan," she bantered with a smirk on her lips.

"What do you mean?"

"Malfoy, he's been looking over at you all night."

"No way, he can't mean me," she stated, the memory of their last encounter still vividly in her mind.

"Tori and Draco are sitting on a tree …" she teased.

"Oh come on, don't be stupid!"

Trying to avoid further discussion on this matter, Astoria left the table and went to get some fresh air just outside the pub.

It was only as she stepped out into the crystal clear summer night that she realized how stuffy and hot it had been inside. Suddenly, her head was spinning. She leaned against the cold stone wall, trying to get a grasp of her senses.

Astoria could not tell for how long she had rested there when the door opened and a tall young man appeared. Quickly, she straightened herself as much as she could without losing balance.

"Are you cold?" he attentively inquired.

"No," she lied, when actually she had her arms wrapped around herself and was shivering a little.

Knowing better he took off his jacket and swung it around her shoulders. An earthy scent of musk with just a tint of vanilla reached her nostrils. It was not very intense, and most likely would have appealed to her on most nights, but at the moment it only made her feel even sicker. The girl drew a hand over her mouth and shakily staggered over to a nearby patch of shrubbery. It did not improve her condition in the least though. Wanting to bury her head in shame, she did not return but rather lowered herself onto the cobblestone. She still felt like she would never be sound of mind again.

When she finally realized that Draco had seated himself right behind her, she thoughtlessly settled back. The warmth of his body wrapped her in like that of a cosy fireplace and strands of his soft hair tickled her neck. Feeling drowsy, she drifted off.

Even though she was pretty much out of her senses and most likely would not remember much the next day, Draco could not imagine a better way to spend his last night in Hogwarts than sitting here, with the most lovable girl he knew in his arms. He placed a feathery kiss on the back of her head.

What if anyone saw them? What if Pansy got wind of it? What about tomorrow? – He did not care.


End file.
